Today is National Black Cat Day! My gorgeous girl!

Scar's Hoomin @JolietJake posted about it this morning so I thought I'd wait awhile so as not to infringe on His Evil Lordship's well-deserved glory (Scar's, not JJ's ), but I would like to brag on my gorgeous girl a bit.
I taught summer school 14 years ago and all throughout the session one student kept asking me if I wanted a kitten because she knew I loved cats. I kept saying NO because I already had a cat and a young kitten at the house I was renting a bedroom in and, technically, I wasn't supposed to have ANY cats.
The last day of summer school the student brought me this cute, fluffy 5 month old long-haired black kitten. She said "Ms. NJChicaa, my dad says if you don't take her, she's going to the pound." Animal lover that I am, I knew that an owner turn-in meant immediate euthanization so I couldn't let that happen! I took her home intending to find a home for her. She was just so sweet, though, that I had a hard time imagining giving her up.
So I wound up keeping her and the owner of the house was a very good sport. I moved in with my sister a couple of months later for half a year or so and then my now-husband and I bought our house. We've been here for 13 years which means that my beautiful black fluffy girl is almost 15 years old now. She still is extremely sweet and loving, very healthy, and she loves going outside for several hours each day when the weather is warm enough to do so.
Some people think black cats are bad luck which I think is a load of garbage. I do pay attention to keeping her inside around Halloween because I'm always afraid evil people are going to steal her for some kind of nastiness. I also had never had a long-haired cat before having her but I wouldn't hesitate to adopt another one. You just have to get them used to regular brushing and then that cuts down on the fur tumbleweeds and the need for trips to the groomer's.
I'm glad that that student brought my fluffy black girl to me on that last day of summer school. She has really been such a love to us.

Cool cat, and neat story how you got her. I always though black cats being bad luck was a bunch of hog wash also. Probably why so many thought cats were evil, which led to them killing them all and the black plague came about.

Aww, she's beautiful! And lucky to have a mom like you.
Long hair requires care, but that looks great on cats, especially if black.
Are there people who use black cats for strange rites? I'm speechless.

Yes Satanists and stupid teenagers trying to imitate Devil Worshipers or just experimenting. Animal shelters and rescues in the US won't adopt out black cats around Halloween for that reason. I keep her inside for the same reason. I let her out to do her "business" and then immediately scoop her up and take her back inside for the few days before and after.

I used to have a black cat too, and he was probably the nicest kitty I have ever had. I don't think I ever heard him hiss. If I dropped something on the floor in the kitchen when I was cooking...he would "tell me about it."It was so cute.

@NJChicaa I'm highly allergic to the point that if I were to brush my hand across my eyes after petting them, my outer membrane of my eyeball blisters and the skin rolls off. Not to say what else it does to my lungs. Otherwise, I would have five or six of them